made of the sea and the stars
by salyko
Summary: Sarah has blue sparkly fingernails, a caffeine addiction, multiple piercings in her ears and a fluffy white cat. She has absolutely no business in being in Middle Earth. Yet, somehow, that is where she finds herself. And she'll learn that while not all who wander are lost, some who do actually are just lost.
1. that might be the death of me

Before you amazing, incredible, terrific person read this story, you should probably know two things:

It's a self-insert.

And I'm not sorry.

Cheers.

Rated cause I motherfucking like to swear, god fucking damn it.

_This one last bullet you mention is my one last shot at redemption,  
because I know to live you must give your life away.  
And I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity and  
I've been locked inside that house, all the while you hold the key.  
And I've been dying to get out, and that might be the death of me,  
and even though, there's no way in knowing where to go, I promise I'm going because  
I gotta get outta here._

-Be My Escape; **Relient K**

It was a beautiful day.

Y'know, the kind of day that Louis Armstrong sung about? Skies so blue, roses so red. What a wonderful world, blah blah blah. No really, all joking aside, it was truly wonderful. Birds were gaily chirping as they flew, not a single cloud could be seen for miles and the sun shone down upon the people, warming them up. It just could not be possible for anyone to be having a bad day or be in a bad mood.

Except for Sarah, of course.

Don't misunderstand though. Sarah wasn't abnormally or exceedingly negative about things nor did she hate her life and wish she was dead.

She just hated her life _at the moment._

Then again, sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-94 during rush hour is never a good time for anyone. _Maybe if people were, like, barbequing and dancing or something, it could be a party, _Sarah dully thought with a snort.

She was just desperate for some form of entertainment. Actually, she was secretly hoping for a specific form, but alas, Channing Tatum did not appear and start to strip and dance in front of her.

Well damn.

She drummed her sparkly blue painted fingernails against her steering wheel to a song stuck in her head that she heard at work a few weeks back. She hummed a little bit of it. "Tiny little boxes in a row," Sarah sang softly and incredibly off-key to herself, "Ain't what you want, it's what you know."

Sarah heard herself sing and knew that she could not sing if her life depended on it. In a world of Ariel's and Belle's, she knew she was that one Disney Princess that did not sing. But did that stop her?

"To_o_oniiiiii_igg_gght," she drawled out loud and sounding much like a dying donkey, "we are yo_ooooouuuu_nng!" Sarah cringed at the terrible song (her humble opinion) and her even worse voice (that was just fact), but giggled nevertheless.

Hey, just because she_ can't_ sing does not mean she _won't_ sing_._

Still, decent music would have been preferred over her voice. Times like this she wished her radio was working.

_And the A/C too,_ Sarah sighed to herself while digging her fingers into her eyeballs and dragging 'em down her face. _And that the left headlight wasn't duct taped in and the passenger side door would open and-y'know what? I just want a new car. _She sighed. _Why is everything I own shit?_

The thing Sarah hated the most about sitting in traffic wasn't even the traffic part. Or the sitting. She just hated that it was _actually _happening. Like, seriously, all the things she **c**ould be doing with her life and here she remained. She could be reading or cleaning or doing her laundry or out with her non-existent friends or _sleeping_. God knows she never got enough sleep. Probably something to do with the colossal amount of coffee and pop she drank daily.

But no. Sarah sat in her car, slouched in her seat, blowing some annoying piece of her bangs outta her face repeatedly and staring at the bumper of a random car until traffic finally caught up to where she was and she could move and drive another half an hour home. That was, regrettably, her life.

Same shit, different fucking day.

And she's been in this exact same spot for the last fucking hour now. She repressed the urge to smack her steering wheel since she knew from experience that would do nothing but make her hand smart something fierce. Patient was never a word to describe Sarah. Lazy, stubborn, and childish, perhaps, but never patient. In fact, she considered just getting out of her car and to start walking home because she was so impatient but then something amazing happen. Something Sarah could have only imagined seeing in her dizziest, wildest dreams.

The cars in front of the car in front of _her _were starting to move.

It was like Christmas morning. Sarah gave a cry of joy and grinned a grin that nearly split her face. She sat up straighter in her seat and prepared herself to drive. Bouncing slightly in her seat and the crazed grin still plastered on her face, Sarah could now agree.

Today was a good fucking day.

* * *

Twenty minutes and half a gas tank later, Sarah was cruising at 80 miles per hour. Technically speeding, but c'mon. Everybody knows that those five extra bits were freebies. Traffic had thinned out too, which was nice. No one likes to be sandwiched in-between two semi-trucks on the highway. However, now the bright as sin evening sun was in front of her and right smack-dabbed in her line of sight.

Sarah squinted her eyes as the sun preceded to attempt to blind her. She was a pretty terrible driver to begin with, so not being able to see certainly could not help. With a growl of annoyance, she flipped her visor down to block the lovely sunshine from her face. Yet, papers upon papers of old receipts, tickets, and driving instructions from MapQuest came tumbling down on top of her as the result.

Sarah swore. In a hastily attempt, she picked the papers up that she knew, she _knew_, she should have thrown away ages ago but never did.

Sarah's eyes widened as she saw the biggest motherfucking spider she had ever seen come out of the papers in her hands.

Sarah swore once more as said motherfucking spider started to climb up her hand and up her arm, towards her face...

Sarah swerved.

* * *

Sarah wasn't dead. Not yet anyways. Just in a ditch. Which, in hindsight, was probably not much better, but hey, she was breathing and that had to count for something. She groaned as she came to several hours after she crashed, judging by the pitch black sky above.

"Fuck," she mumbled out while holding her head, which currently felt like some baby mutant alien was trying to split open and come out of, like in one of those really terrible _Syfy_ movies, "Mother_fucker."_

As she removed her hand from her head, she noticed it was completely covered in her blood. The metallic smell suddenly filled her nose, spread into the inside of her mouth where it coated her tongue and throat and she couldn't help but gag. She had to get out of there and get home or get to a hospital or just _somewhere_. She just had to get out and get away from the smell and taste of her own blood. _Now._ Ignoring her screaming muscles and gritting her teeth, she pushed her car door open, but then it just sorta fell off onto the ground.

Sarah quickly followed it.

She cried out as she landed in the dirt. She didn't even care about trying to get somewhere now. Everything just fucking hurt. So. Goddamn. Much.

_Is this how it ends?_ She thought as she managed to flip around onto her back with a pained gasp. _Am I gonna die?_

She stared into the cloudy, starless night sky and a tear leaked out of her eye from pain, from fatigue, from frustration, from desperation, from so many things that Sarah could not even begin to consider the source of. All she knew was that it was silly, to the point of being stupid, that something so small as a tear on the outside could represent so much going on, on the inside.

_Please,_ she begged to no one in particular as she laid in the cool grass, _I don't want to die._

She was just so tired. She just hurt so much. She had to close her eyes. Just for a little bit. It would be okay. Right?

_Please_, she thought weakly as her eyes fluttered.

_Please._

_Save me._

* * *

Aragorn was not a man easily frightened. He had ridden into battles numerous times, with his fear pushed to the farthest corners of his mind. He had face hoards of enemies that would make a lesser man flee in despair.

Nor was Aragorn a man that panicked in a problematic situation. Aragorn always kept his head on his shoulders in the worst of times and was able to solve a problem within seconds due to his quick thinking.

That was just who Aragorn was, that's how he was raised, and that's who he intended to die as.

So, staring down at the oddly-dressed unconscious girl, Aragorn could not believe that he was at a loss of what to do.

"Is she dead?"

Aragorn frowned and looked to his side to see his tiny companions all stare at the girl with wide, curious eyes. They all looked tired and road-weary, but Aragorn knew that couldn't be avoided nor could they leave to go home. Or, at least, not anymore.

Not since he let Arwen take Frodo yesterday.

Aragorn had to stop himself from second-guessing his decision _yet again_. It would be bad for the Hobbits to see him be so unsure of his decision. He couldn't do that to them, not when the life of their beloved kin was at risk. Not that it was truly his decision though. It's not like Arwen had left much room for argument or compromise. But still, she had faith in him and his abilities, so he should have faith in her and her abilities. After all, it's not like Arwen was just a normal, human girl.

"_I do not fear them."_

No. There's nothing he could do about it now. It was decided. It was over. It was done. And it had to be done. Otherwise, Frodo would have died in Sam's arms. Aragorn knew that what he did was right. He knew that what _Arwen_ had done was right.

So, that just left him with his current dilemma.

"Is she, Strider?" Sam repeated his question, staring up at Aragorn with a furrowed brow, using the name Aragorn had became known as in this region.

Aragorn threw Sam an unsure glance, cleared his throat nervously and knelt down next to the girl. He put his fingers on her neck and tried to feel for a pulse. He heard Sam, Pippin and Merry all hold their breath as they hovered over him, all staring at the unmoving girl. Aragorn face darkened when his search began to appear useless. Desperate, he grabbed the girl's wrist and checked there.

Nothing.

She was dead.

Aragorn sighed and shook his head to let the Hobbits know. He heard a gasp, probably from Pippin, and understood their shock. She was still so young. Did she have family? Would someone come looking for her? Did anyone even know where she was? Aragorn wanted to help her. He did.

But he had enough to worry about at the moment.

Two days after Frodo got stabbed by the Nazgûl at Weathertop, they came across those three troll statues. Sam insisted on stopping to look at "Mr. Bilbo's trolls" despite Aragorn urging them to keep moving. Aragorn is now grateful that they did stop, for he knew that it would have made it even harder for Arwen to find them in time and it was now truly a race against time for Frodo

After Arwen had taken Frodo and left them, Aragorn had calmed the Hobbits down. The four settled down for a quick break and maybe to catch up on some lost sleep underneath the three statues of trolls. They needed it too, since they did not stop once after Frodo got stabbed. It was a six day journey from Weathertop to Rivendell and Aragorn knew that Frodo would need elven-medical attention right away.

When they started moving again at dawn, (after having breakfast, of course) they trekked through the forest for a bit. Aragorn had just finally gotten the Hobbits out of the forest and had started to pick up on the tracks Arwen left on the way to Rivendell when they happened upon the strange girl. However, Aragorn couldn't dwell on her for much longer. The sun was nearly above their heads now so that meant that evening was only a handful of hours away. They were losing daylight.

He had to get the Hobbits to Rivendell. Nothing else mattered.

"Come," Aragorn called to the Hobbits as he stood up and started to walk away from the girl, "There is nothing we can do."

"But Strider, we can't just leave her-," Merry began, not moving from his spot beside the girl.

"-and we cannot take her with us," Aragorn interrupted sharply, turning round to face the Hobbits, "We have to get to Rivendell. We still have at least a three day journey ahead of us."

Sam, Pippin and Merry all exchanged unhappy looks with each other and removed to budge. They were clearly upset with just leaving the poor girl. Who knows what could happen to her? Before they could protest even more, Aragorn spoke up again.

"She will only slow us down, " he explained more gently, for he too felt bad about leaving her, "We do not have a cho-"

But Aragorn never got to finish his sentence as a loud groan filled the air. Sam, Pippin and Merry, almost as one, spun on their heels to turn to look at the girl.

The four of them watched as she slowly brought a hand up to her head and came to. Aragorn's mouth couldn't help but to drop in disbelief.

He had not felt a pulse.

He _knew _that he didn't and he was, very rarely, a man that was wrong in that sort of thing.


	2. sometimes you decide to trust

"_People, I have discovered, are layers and layers of secrets. You believe you know them, that you understand them, but their motives are always hidden from you, buried in their own hearts. You will never know them, but sometimes you decide to trust them.__"_

**-Veronica Roth, **_**Insurgent**_

Sarah felt like shit.

_What the fuck?!_ She thought as she groaned heavily.

Her whole body was so stiff and it felt like it was made out of something heavy. Something like lead. Sarah couldn't remember exactly what had happened to her prior to her waking up. It was all kinda fuzzy in her mind. All she could recall was pain and lots of it. And… she slightly remembered not being able to move because of that pain. However, she was now feeling more sore than in any actual pain, like the kind of sore felt after running for a very long time, so moving seemed possible to her.

She tried moving her arms, but that didn't happen. Her arms just seemed to flat-out refused. 'No thanks,' they said snootily with their noses in the air, 'We are just fine as we are.'

Alright, now Sarah was just being weird. _Alright, Sarah ol' girl_, she scowled herself fiercely, _Ya gotta move. Now is the time. Move,_ she commanded her arm.

When nothing happened, she mentally growled, _Move! _

Nothing.

_MOVE BITCH!_

Releasing a breath she didn't realized she was even holding, Sarah slowly brought her hand up to rub her forehead. She smiled a little bit at her victory and opened her eyes, but then winced and quickly shut them as the stupid sun nearly burned her fucking eyeballs out again.

_Oh._

It all came back to Sarah instantly as she slowly, and more carefully, reopened her eyes. She remembered driving. The traffic. The sun in her eyes. The papers falling in her lap. _Oh God, the spider, _she shuddered at the memory of it traveling up her arm as she very carefully sat up despite her muscles feeling like they hadn't moved in ages.

She hated spiders.

Sarah frowned as her memory came back to her even more. She had crashed. With a groan, she realized that she probably totaled her fucking car! _Oh fuck me! _

That was so not what she needed right now in her life.

"Um.. 'scuse me?"

Sarah whipped her head to her side at the sound of the slightly accented voice and was surprised to see herself practically surrounded by three… boyish-looking people?

_Whaat? _She stupidly thought as she scanned each of them in turn with wide eyes, as she had never seen anything like them before.

From what she could see, they were three extremely short boys with large, hairy feet and wearing the weirdest clothes she had ever seen. Sarah thought that they looked like something a Renaissance festival would spit out, which really wasn't a fair judgment on her part since she had never even been to a Renaissance festival before.

Despite this, Sarah just couldn't help but stare at them in pure bewilderment. She wasn't quite sure what they were supposed to be. They were like boys… but not. She couldn't put her finger on it, but Sarah could tell something about them was off. Maybe it was the feet? Or maybe it was the clothes?

_Or maybe I've just finally fucking lost it?_

"Do you know where you are?" the one that had spoken continued. He was the shortest one and had almost golden curls on his head, clear blue eyes and smiled encouragingly at Sarah while she just kind of continued to gap at him with wide eyes.

Sarah, she realized when she considered his question, did not know where she was. Nor how she got there, nor what exactly the fuck was going on. All she knew was that she had gotten in an accident and now here she was, surrounded by these… things. Cute and polite things, but still _things, _nonetheless.

_I... died?_ She blinked at her fading memory. It was all starting to get fuzzy again.

But the three short boys-men-people-_whatever_ were all staring at her, all smiling at her encouragingly and Sarah basically just threw her apprehension out the window at the sight of their sincere and kind expressions. She felt almost no hesitation in trusting them. After all, they were being nice to her and she had a hard time believing that they would harm her while they had those bright smiles on their faces.

Sarah knew that she probably shouldn't trust them so fast, and based on nothing but their appearances no less, but she was so desperate and lost. She may regret her decision later, but… _I'll deal with it then_, she promised herself.

Right here and now, Sarah decided to trust the three.

She also decided that she should probably stop doing her best impression of a fish and answer them soon, before they labeled her a nutcase.

"Uhh buuuh...?" was, regrettably, the only sound that squeaked out of her mouth.

So much for not coming across insane.

She closed her eyes and shook her head to try to help get her wits together, but groaned as that backfired and suddenly made her world tipsy. _Not the greatest idea._ She held her head in her hands and put it in-between her knees to help stop the spinning.

The three boys (whatever, Sarah didn't know what to call them) all exchanged looks of unease. Their smiles had turned into small frowns when they realized that this girl was completely, utterly and wholly useless. The larger one with the shaggy, sandy brown hair, coming to a decision much similar to Sarah's, knelt down so that he was eye leveled with the girl and placed his hand to lie gently on her shoulder.

"It's alright," he softly told her, like he was speaking to a frightened animal. Sarah slowly opened her weary eyes and stared into his warm brown eyes.

"It's alright," he repeated a bit louder and firmer when he saw her uncurl and look at him. He grinned at her and continued speaking, "I'm Samwise Gamgee, a Hobbit of the Shire," Sarah stared at him, not bothering to conceal the baffled look that crossed her face when he spoke, "And who might you be?"

Sarah continued to stare at him with wide eyes, but licked her lips and prayed, _prayed_, that her voice would work this time as she answered him.

"I-I'm Sarah…"

_And so incredibly fucked._

"Well, it's very nice to meetcha, Miss Sarah!" Samwise exclaimed happily to Sarah while shaking her hand vigorously. All Sarah could do was smile weakly at him and try not to laugh and cry at the same time, for she very much felt like doing both at the moment.

"And I'm Meriadoc Brandybuck!" the taller goldilocks stepped forward with a grin and extended his hand out for Sarah, who took it and shook his hand slowly, "But you can call me Merry! And this here is Peregrin Took, but ya can just call him Pippin." The one that had first spoken to her smiled brightly at her, said a 'how-do-you-do?' and shook her hand as well.

After Sarah released Pippin's hand, they all stepped back and stared expectantly at Sarah, with wide grins on their faces. It took Sarah a good second to realize that they were waiting for her to respond to their greetings.

"Oh!" She suddenly uttered, not knowing what to say, "…it's, uh, nice to meet you... Sam, Merry and, uh, Pippin, heheh..."

Sarah bite her lip nervously as she trailed off and glanced around her for the first time. She had to do a double-take when she noticed there was nothing but grass, hills and random shrubbery as far as the eye could see. Where the hell was she? Last she remembered, she was off of I-94 and she didn't think she would miss a giant highway if it was around her. She didn't even see her car!

Suddenly, Sarah wondered if she was so wise to trust the three guys crowding around her. A heavy feeling settled in her stomach as she realized with dread that they could have possibly _kidnapped_ her and that was why she couldn't see the highway or her car!

What if they planned on _killing _her? _Oh God,_ she thought.

A look of horror grew on Sarah's face with each passing thought of possible kidnappers and murderers. The three little guys, (what did Sam call themselves? Hobbies?) either didn't notice her face or didn't care, and started to holler to some other dude she didn't notice before.

"Aye, Strider!" Sam called over, past Merry and Pippin, "Don't be shy! Come say 'ello to Sarah!"

Sarah snapped out of her fear-induced trance at the sound of her name and whipped her head around to look at who Sam was talking to.

_You fucking stupid girl! _She screamed to herself in her head when her eyes landed on the figure now known as Strider.

Strider, to be blunt, looked like he would not hesitant to punch her in the face if tempted. He was _definitely_ a man, and a tall one at that, with dark, dirty-looking hair and rugged facial hair. Sarah thought he looked rather rugged all over, which only added to her theory of them being possible kidnappers.

_Or murderers, oh God._

But it was his eyes, his narrowed, piercing blue eyes that were currently scanning her, that made Sarah want to run away. Sarah didn't even think to hide the fact that this man intimidated her with every possible meaning of the word. She didn't have much of a thought process at the moment. She just sat there, staring into his eyes, not daring to move or even take a breath.

Maybe if she didn't move, he wouldn't notice her.

"Oi!" Merry yelled out to Strider after what seemed like hours to Sarah, "You're scaring her!"

Sarah released the breath she was holding as Strider slid his keen eyes to Pippin, then to Merry, Sam and then, finally, back to Sarah. She didn't stop the gasp that escaped her lips as she made eye contact with him once more. It was almost like he was searching for something in her.

Sarah was scared.

She didn't know what he was looking for or if she even wanted him to find it. She didn't know anything except that today could have possibly been the day she died. Sarah took a shaky breath as her eyes filled with tears, feeling incredibly and absolutely overwhelmed. She knew she was probably the most pathetic thing this man had ever seen at the moment, but what could she do? What could be done?

She was completely helpless.

However, much to Sarah's surprise, Strider's sight then softened considerable when he saw her eyes shine with unshed tears. He then took a deep breath and without a word, he extended his hand to Sarah, practically sticking it in her face. She stared at it, confused, and then dared a glance to Strider's face. All hostility on his face at this point was now gone and he even smiled a little bit at her.

"Go on," he gently consoled her, looking awfully friendly now, "Tis okay."

His tone is what made Sarah stop her running train of '_oh God'_ in her mind and think on what would be best to do.

Now that he wasn't looming over her and practically glaring at her, Sarah could see that he was actually quite attractive. He was in desperate need of a bath and was probably too old for her, but still, easy on the eyes. He was also smiling at her now, which just put him in a totally new light for Sarah. That still wasn't enough, however, for the logical part of her mind.

That part of her was telling her to punch him in the groin while it was still within her arm span and run for the hills.

But Sarah couldn't help but feel she could trust him as she stared into his now friendly-looking eyes. Oh for shit's sake, he was like a fucking Transformer. He was a completely different person now. Or at least, in Sarah's eyes he was. Sarah was confused. But she wanted to trust him. It would certainly make her life easier.

Perhaps she was just overreacting earlier?

_He was probably trying to see if I was a threat or not, _Sarah concluded in her head, though she couldn't stop herself from snorting at the idea that someone actually thought of her as threatening. The logical part of her was still screaming at her to stop being so fucking _stupid _and trusting of everyone just because they _smiled_ all nice and pretty at her. After all, serial killers smiled once in a while too, the logical part of her mind told her.

But Sarah had always been really good at ignoring that specific part of her mind.

Sarah gave Strider one more glance and before she could convince herself otherwise, she reached up and grasped his hand.

Sarah yelped from surprise as Strider pulled her up from the ground as easily as picking a flower was for her. She was just expecting a handshake, to be honest. She stumbled a little bit when she came to her feet, as he put a little more strength than was probably necessary into the act. Dread re-entered Sarah's entire being as she realized how incredibly weak she was compared to him.

_No. Stop it, Sarah,_ she mentally scowled herself, _You'll just freak yourself out for nothing again!_

"Strider," was all he said as he released her hand and crossed his arms.

Sarah controlled the urge to roll her eyes at him for stating what she already obviously knew as she dusted the dirt off her ripped jeans and favorite hoodie.

"Yeah, I'm not deaf. Thanks."

Though it appeared she did not have control over her mouth.

Sarah froze and then closed her eyes in despair and slight horror. Couldn't she keep her fucking big ass mouth shut just for once? But when Strider didn't make a move to strangle her for her sarcasm, she relaxed. Oh thank Jesus. And really, the more she interacted with Strider, the more she thought that she had worked herself up for nothing earlier. Sarah bet that he was the type of guy that's bark was bigger than his bite

Even if he was insanely strong, dressed kind of weirdly, and had a probably sharp sword at his side and she did, after all, only come up to his shoulders and- _knock it off, Sarah._

"So, uh," Sarah lamely started to distract her thoughts as she stretched her stiffed back a bit, "You guys, like uh, larpers or something?"

Sarah laughed a little bit but it quickly died as the four of them just stared at her in confusion. What? The way they were dressed, that wasn't such a stupid question, in Sarah's opinion. And Sarah actually did know what larping was. She's watched Fantasy Factory before. Rob Dyrdek was, like, her spirit animal.

"Not… larpers, Miss," Sam said, tasting the foreign word slowly in his mouth, "We're Hobbits. Well, 'cept for Strider, 'course, but you could probably tell that for yourself."

"Hobbits?" Sarah questioned raising an eyebrow at Sam and placing her hands on her hips. She was pretty sure that was not even a word.

"Hobbits," Strider confirmed, "They are half-lings," he elaborated when the befuddled look remained on her face.

That still didn't make any sense to Sarah. Well, even though Strider seemed a few screws loose in the head, as Sarah officially decided, it was the clear sincerity in Sam's face that proved to her that what him and Strider were talking about must have some truth to it. Sarah had a hard time believing any of this was even going on, but the lingering sore and stiffness she felt in her body told her it was as real as real gets.

Sarah sighed, feeling suddenly very drained, but then slowly nodded nonetheless as she mumbled her defeat, "Okay. Alright. Hobbits it is then."

She didn't want to get in any trouble or say anything that made her stick out in a bad way or offend someone on accident. Besides, Sarah preferred to be aware of when she was offending someone because then she could really revel in the moment.

In a rare moment of wisdom for Sarah, she decided she was just going to accept anything that was said or done to her while she was here. She was going to play along to whatever was happening while she was here. When in Rome, right? After all, it sure felt like she was gonna be stuck here for a while.

_Wherever 'here' is_, she thought mentally sighing.

It seemed like she had a long ways to go before she got back home.

"So!" Sarah clasped her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels with a smile on her face, inwardly proud of her mature decision, "You guys need some company?"


	3. most people never listen

"_When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen."_

**-Ernest Hemingway**

Sam, Pippin and Merry all nodded at Sarah, looking eager to allow her to join them, but Strider frowned slightly at her. Sarah mentally gulped. She was worried he wouldn't let her go with them and she had a gut feeling that his opinion was the only one that truly mattered in the group. Sarah so desperately hoped he wouldn't turn her away.

Well, if he did, she would just start crying again and see if that would help her get her way.

Any lingering pride Sarah felt before for her mature decision dissolved quickly as she realized something about herself; she had little to no shame.

"Do you not have a place to go?" Strider asked, concern, surprisingly, laced in his voice, "A family, perhaps?"

Sarah gnawed at her lips and shrugged while letting her gaze fall to the floor. She hoped that was enough for Strider because that was all he was gonna get out of her when it came to super personal questions like that. There was no fucking way in hell she was even gonna bother to try to explain what had happened.

Shit, _she_ didn't even fully understand what had happened.

Strider sighed and Sarah gazed at him from under her eyelashes. Her backup plan, if tears didn't work, would be puppy-dog eyes. And if that didn't work?

She'll flash him. What the hell did she care?

Ooh, but that could possibly backfire if this place was, like, stuck in the dark ages as Sarah assumed it was.

_The last thing I need is to be weighed against a duck_, Sarah mentally snickered to herself and continued in her best Monty Python voice, "_We found a wiiitch!_ _Burn 'eeer! Burn 'eeer!"_

Her lips twitched, but she kept her expression rather blank otherwise despite her stupid thoughts. She continued to nervously gnaw on her bottom lip as Strider seemed to have a mental debate with himself. Sarah attempted to plan her next strategy, one that didn't involve her boobs, but now she couldn't get that stupid scene from Monty Python out of her head.

"_She turned me into a newt!"_ she mentally giggled, _"I got better!"_

Obviously, she would be screwed if Strider didn't allow her to go with them.

"Look," she blurted out, not able to take the suspense and her stupidity much longer "Ju-just take me to wherever you guys are headed to and-and I'll find my own way from there! I swear!"

Strider seemed to consider this. He seemed to like that idea. But he was still thinking it over far longer than Sarah was comfortable with.

"Please!" she begged. She would get on her knees and beg if that's what it took. She didn't care. No shame, remember?

_Please oh please, OH PLEASE!_ She mentally chanted.

Finally, after a few more agonizing seconds for Sarah, Strider nodded.

"_FUCK_ YES!" Sarah thoughtlessly cheered loudly while throwing her hands in the air for her victory.

Sam, Pippin and Merry all stared up at her in shock. It's not that they hadn't heard such colorful language before. They had all heard some of the older male Hobbits scream or mumble profanities (especially Pippin and Merry) but they had never heard it been yelled in that context before and from a young maiden at that!

Sam awkwardly cleared his throat as Sarah's face grew red and rather warm. Pippin and Merry were shaking with silent laughter and snorting, trying their damnedest not to fall over from their mirth. Strider only raised an eyebrow at her and crossed his arms, staring at Sarah expectantly, obviously wanting an explanation of her behavior. Sarah simply lowered her arms slowly and coughed into her fist, avoiding all of their eyes at all cost.

Open mouth, insert foot.

Before she could do anything else equally mortifying, (_WHY_, she mentally yelled at herself) Strider stuck his finger in Sarah's face and firmly stated, "But you can _only_ come with us to Rivendell."

She furiously nodded her head at him. As long as he would let her tag along, his wish was her command.

"From there, you will have to go your separate way. Or stay there. Tis not matter to us, we just cannot afford to involve you in our… affairs," he trailed off, making eye contact with all three of the Hobbits, his message clear to even Sarah.

"_Do not tell her anything."_

Yeah, yeah. Sure. Fine. Whatever. That sounded sketchy as hell, but as long as he got Sarah back to civilization, she couldn't care less. If she could keep her secrets, then they could keep theirs.

Oh how she would come to regret that decision.

"Come," he glanced at the sky above them, "We have to get moving again, less we waste the whole day."

He then kneeled to the ground, much to Sarah's surprise, and seemed to be looking for something with both his hands and his eyes. When he found whatever it was, (it all looked like fucking dirt to Sarah) he straightened up and gestured over his shoulder for all of them to follow him. Without a word, Sam, Pippin and Merry all fell in line with each other and quickly followed Strider.

Sarah bite her lip as she stared at their retreating backs and sighed to herself, feeling almost sad.

_Nothing is ever going to be the same again, is it?_

She slowly took one step after another and before she knew it, she was following the four weirdest people she had ever met to wherever they would lead her.

Of course, in their defense, they were all thinking the exact same thing about her.

* * *

Sarah was never the athletic type. It's not like she didn't like sports. She just preferred to eat and watch crappy movies instead like the lazy ass she was.

So the first time Strider, Sam, Merry and Pippin all broke out into a fast jog after walking for a bit, she mentally groaned. Despite her agony, she picked up the pace in fear of getting left behind. As Sarah expected, she was the first that had to slow down. The others, seeing her trying to catch her breath, were nice enough to slow down themselves the first time.

The second time she was the reason they had to slow down, Strider looked mildly annoyed with her.

The third time, he had a look of pure regret for his decision in allowing her to accompany them.

Sarah felt bad, as she stood there for the fourth time with her hands on her knees and gasping for air. But what could she do? She wasn't use to this much running around. Sarah would always be the first to tell you how lazy she was. But, perhaps for the first time, Sarah realized how much of a problem that was going to be for her.

Oh whatever. _I'm sure where ever we are going, will still be there when we get there, _Sarah dismissed Strider's attitude as the name of their destination escaped her. What was the big fucking hurry anyways?

Sam, Merry and Pippin all stayed within her sight as she walked (limped, really), but Strider was way ahead of them all. He was on the top of some hill in the distance and he refused to look at her. Sarah's throat burned with the obstruction of a huge lump. She felt sick partially because of all the moving, but also partially because she feared that Strider already hated her. She hoped with everything she had that this wasn't the case because she knew she needed him in order to survive this place.

He, on the other hand, had no need for some little weak-ass girl.

However, when he disappeared from her sight without even so much as a glance back at her, she knew it was hopeless.

She had screwed everything up.

_Dammit,_ she gritted her teeth as she tried to get her stinging legs to move faster. This only resulted in her bucking her knees and falling face down in the dirt. It took everything within Sarah to not just stay there and cry into said dirt. Honestly, after everything she had been through, she felt like she deserved that much.

It never occurred to Sarah once in her self-pity train of thought, that perhaps her company had suffered some catastrophe of their own.

She moved her aching muscles slowly in an attempt to get back on her feet, but she might as have been trying to move mountains or other extremely heavy stuff. She felt that weak.

"Don't push yourself," Pippin hurried over and helped her up with a friendly smile, "It's not worth hurtin' yourself over."

"Thanks, Pippin," Sarah smiled weakly at him as he held onto her elbow. She couldn't help but agree with him.

They both sped up a bit till they were walking with Sam and Merry. Strider was still far ahead of them, but at least now he was within eyesight. When he glanced back, Sarah ducked her head to avoid seeing his angry eyes. She recalled thinking that she had no shame just a couple of hours ago. Obviously that was wrong and she did, because Strider made her feel very ashamed for being so fucking slow.

She kind of resented him for it. What the hell did he want from her? To sprout wings and fly? Sarah scoffed and ignored the ashamed and guilty feeling in her gut, feeling completely justified in not pushing herself to the point of harm.

Strider could go fuck himself.

Pippin and Sarah fell into step with Sam and Merry and the three Hobbits quickly started a conversation. It helped Sarah distract herself from Strider and her growing guilt so she happily eavesdropped.

"Hey Pippin, ya know what sounds good right 'bout now?" Merry asked with an ear-to-ear grin.

"Hmmm," Pippin gave the question a lot of thought. Like, a lot a lot. More than Sarah thought was actually necessary, "A roast duck with some mushrooms and sweet potatoes with a great big pint of ale to wash it all down?"

_Holy shit, that DOES sound good. Except for the ale part. Never had ale before. But, ugh, food. Glorious food._

"Ah no… but now that you mention it…"

"Well, what were you gunna say then?"

"I was thinking porkchops! With rosemary!" Merry happily exclaimed the idea of porkchops as if it was something to be treasured far more than any dazzling jewel known to the land.

If these guys loved food more than anything else in the world, then Sarah most _definitely _did not want them to hate her either. Her desire for them to like her was now stronger than her desire for Strider to like her.

Food was that amazing.

"Stop it you two, before ya make me so hungry, I start to eat my own hands," Sam whined while looking at his hands, "Though they probably wouldn't taste that bad with some thyme.. or maybe chives or… Hmm…"

Sarah chuckled along with Pippin and Merry as Sam looked comically longingly at his hands while naming spices he thought they would go good with. She bravely decided to add her own two cents to the conversation about one of her favorite things in the whole wide world. After all, nothing brought people together better than some good ass food.

"I love food," Sarah admitted to the Hobbits, who looked thrilled at her announcement, "You know what I think sounds amazing right now? Pancakes. Fluffy, golden, warm pancakes. Mmm."

"Yes!" Pippin's face lit up like the sun at the mention of the breakfast food, "Doused in some sweet maple syrup!"

"Oh, girl, you are preaching to the choir!"

"What?"

"Uh, don't-don't worry about it."

"Strawberries," Merry declared suddenly, earning a loud gasp from Sarah.

"Strawberry pancakes!" she managed to both cry and moan at the same time, "Ohh!"

"Wonder how my hands would taste with maple syrup?" Sam seriously inquired with a thoughtful look at his hands.

Sarah, Pippin and Merry all instantly burst out laughing at Sam's somber face as he continued to mumble about his hands and maple syrup.

_Oh my God, these guys are _the_ shit! I love them!_ Sarah mentally giggled, happy to feel, well, happy.

It felt so great to have friends.

Though, as their giggles and snickers died down, Sarah noted with perplexity that a sudden and quick grim atmosphere fell over the three Hobbits. It surrounded them before Sarah could even blink, like a large and dark cloud blocking the warm sunshine and bringing cold, miserable rain without warning.

_Huh?_

"Do ya think Mr. Frodo got to Rivendell alright?" Sam asked quietly with a furrowed brow, concern written all over his tone and face.

_Who?_

Merry kicked at the dirt road and answered just as softly, "I'm sure he did."

Though Merry's words were positive, his expression was anything but. Pippin only nodded slowly and pulled his cloak tighter to himself. He looked too choked to say anything.

Sarah stopped in part shock and part concern as the Hobbits sadly shuffled away from her.

_Where did this come from? _

Her heart broke to hear them sound so sad, so worried, so grief-stricken. She never wanted to hear them sound like this again. She wanted them to always laugh and smile like they were just moments ago. Sarah had only just met the three of them, but she got along with them so well in that one second, a part of her, a childish part some would argue, already felt like they were fast friends.

She felt a growing affection for the small child-like Hobbits.

She didn't know who Frodo was, but she hoped for Sam, Pippin and Merry's sake, he was okay and at Rivendell.

_Rivendell, _Sarah remembered suddenly, _Isn't that where we are headed?_

It took Sarah's slow brain a minute, but it eventually all clicked together.

They were all hurrying along to make sure that their friend, Frodo, was okay. They probably felt more scared of their current state of affairs than she was of her own.

Sarah was wrong.

Sarah felt bad for slowing them down before, but now she felt like she was the lowest trash possible. She was complete and utter scum. The shit you wiped off your shoes before you entered your house because why the fuck would you want to bring shit into that place you lived?

_I'm the reason why they don't have answers yet, _Sarah realized with growing alarm, _I'm the reason they have such sad faces._

Oh hell no.

"C'mon," Sarah called out as she picked up into such a fast jog, she was almost running, "Let's give Strider a run for his money."

If the Hobbits didn't understand the saying, (or the terrible pun) they gave no sign of it. They only picked up their rather large and hairy feet and chased after Sarah.

_For Sam, _Sarah thought as she felt the throbbing in her legs return. She ignored it. She wouldn't give into her laziness anymore.

She was full on running now.

_For Merry, _she thought as she felt her legs protest when she ran up a hill.

She only pushed harder.

_For Pippin._

She caught up to Strider. He looked at her in alarm, but swiftly got over it and started to run with her, the Hobbits not far from the two.

_For my friends._

Her entire being felt like fire.

* * *

Sarah had never felt so fucking cold.

A fire sounded like the best goddamn thing in the universe right now to Sarah. However, they all refused to lit one for some unholy reason even though it was so cold, penguins would need coats.

Sarah noticed that while it was cold during the day, she didn't seem to mind it because she had kept moving. However, now that she was stationary, it was only getting colder as the night sky crept along. Besides pulling her hood up though, there wasn't much else she could do. _It must be close to winter here,_ Sarah silently observed.

As long as she could get the proper clothes soon, Sarah didn't mind the idea of winter that much. She was use to it. Her wintery thoughts reminded her of a joke she once heard about her home.

In Michigan, there are four seasons:

Almost winter, winter, still winter…

And construction.

Sarah smiled a bit at the joke but then quickly banished any thoughts of the mitten-shaped state from whence she came. She was a bit of a crybaby when she was tired and man, was she tired.

She didn't stop once after she broke out into a run.

Even though she knew it wasn't much, she couldn't help but feel some pride.

However, that didn't mean she didn't literally collapse on the ground the second Strider told her they were stopping to make camp.

It was actually kind of a funny scene. She plopped face down into the dirt, this time voluntary, and the four of them quickly started to prod her and make sure she wasn't dead. Again. After mumbling she was fine, they all left her alone and started up camp.

Sarah did feel bad for not helping, but she was just so tired. She promised that the next time camp was made, she would help with everything.

Then she promptly passed out.

She later woke up feeling as cold and stiff as ice.

Chattering her teeth, she sat up and pulled her hood over her head. She rubbed her arms, trying to warm them up even a little bit. It didn't help nearly enough

"Who knows how to make a fire?" she questioned but then bite her lip when she realized that she was the only one awake now.

Merry, Pippin and Sam were all conked out, wrapped in their cloaks and blankets. They looked like cute little burritos.

_Aw_, Sarah thought as she reached over and pulled Sam's blanket more securely over his shoulder. She wasn't even mad at them for hogging all the heat. She smiled when Sam snuggled deeper into his blanket and a rush of affection surged through her.

She loved them already. Truly, a day and she found herself doing anything for them if it meant their happiness.

_They're like children_, she thought biting her smiling lips and watching their peaceful sleeping forms. She recalled their smiling faces which only made her smile more.

_But shit is it cold, _she thought as an icy breeze tore through her, making her shiver even more violently.

And where the fuck was Strider?

"A fire would attract unwanted attention."

Sarah jumped and whipped around to see Strider sitting on top of a boulder. He wasn't facing her, but Sarah saw little puffs of smoke escape from him occasionally. Sarah frowned and let her gaze fall into her lap as she thought deeply at the meaning of his words. Unwanted attention? What the hell? From what? Bandits? Monsters?

_Murderers!?_

"Fear not."

Sarah's head snapped back up to Strider's form. She wondered with slight dismay if she had accidently spoken her rapidly panicked thoughts. It wouldn't be the first time she had done something that fucking thoughtless.

Strider was now half facing her, half turned away. Sarah noted that the source of the smoke was a pipe in his hands.

"For as long as you are in my company," Strider spoke, valor seeping from every word and without breaking eye contact once with Sarah's small, shivering form, "I will not let harm come upon you."

Sarah's face melted into a look of awe as Strider continued to maintain eye contact with her, his promise burning in his gaze. Even someone as idiotic as her could tell that he truly meant what he said. She had no doubt that he would protect her, even at the risk of his own life. And while Sarah realized that she would more than likely require said protection from him…

She also realized she could not have been more wrong about Strider in not only her first, but also her second impression of him.

Sarah, feeling meek, could only drop her gaze to the ground and mumble her thanks. Strider only nodded at her and turned back around. Sarah bite her lip, as she considered something.

"May-May I join you?" Sarah finally asked after a moment, while rubbing her almost frozen hands together. She was successful in befriending the Hobbits, so she was hoping she would be able to befriend Strider now that she felt like she understood him a bit better.

Besides, he didn't seem that cross with her anymore. Maybe he had forgiven her?

Strider didn't look back at her nor did he answer. For a second, Sarah felt disappointment wash over her. She had half-hoped that her sudden need for speed would have dismissed her past offenses. Just as she was about to the find the most comfortable spot on the dirt and try to go back to sleep, Strider scooted over on his large boulder.

It was all the invitation Sarah needed as she quickly scampered up next to his side, on this chilly night.

She couldn't help but feel it was the makings of a beautiful friendship.


	4. and the reasons for the reasons

Alright.

There is Elvish in this chapter. More specifically, Sindarin. I do not claim, nor will I ever, to be a master of this confusing as fuck language. I visited eight different websites and a lot of them told me different things.

I did the best I could.

I have no doubt that I made mistakes and that some of it is wrong, and you are more than welcome to correct me.

Granted, I probably will not change it because I do not care that much about it.

* * *

"_Things don't just happen, they have reasons. And the reasons have reasons. And the reasons for the reasons have reasons. And then the things that happen make other things happen, so they become reasons themselves. Nothing moves forward in a straight line, nothing is straightforward."_

**-Kevin Brooks, **_**Martyn Pig**_

Aragorn's first impression of Sarah was that she was a scared, little girl. She did, after all, stare up at him with those big, teary eyes when he first met her. His second impression, based on the fact that she couldn't run very fast or for very long, was that she was useless and wimpy. Aragorn, despite feeling sorry for her, couldn't wait to get rid of this new recently acquired burden.

That sounded harsh, but Aragorn had to get to Rivendell as soon as possible. The girl was nothing but a hinder.

But then, when Aragorn was mentally cursing himself in every language he knew for allowing the girl to come with them in the first place, she had surprised him.

At first, he thought he was seeing things. The girl that had to stop four times in a row after running only a short distance was now practically sprinting pass him. Aragorn didn't have time to question it or her. He could only keep up with her and guild her along the way, since she didn't even have the first clue as to what direction she should head.

Now, it was night and he was perched on a boulder, above the girl and across from the Hobbits, as they slept peacefully while he stayed awake to keep an eye on things. Even though the Nazgûl would target Frodo, he couldn't be too careful.

Alone with his thoughts, his sword and his pipe, Aragorn's thoughts couldn't help but drift to the strange new addition to their party. Everything about Sarah, from her clothes, to her speech and to even her fingernails, (for some reason, they were blue… and had sparkles) was odd to Aragorn. He had deemed her harmless enough, but that didn't mean she didn't pique his curiosity.

Aragorn had asked the Hobbits to possibly find out more about her as they traveled, but they only came back with the knowledge that she enjoyed food possibly as much as the Hobbits do and that she currently had a desire for pancakes. With strawberries.

Honestly, Aragorn should have known better.

Even though he was happy about it, Aragorn still didn't understand what could have triggered Sarah to run. Just as he was starting to ponder, he heard her shifting from behind him.

"Who knows how to make a fire?" he heard her ask out loud.

A reasonable demand, Aragorn concluded, as it was a cold and icy night. The girl didn't have a cloak or a blanket. All she had was her odd clothes on her back and that didn't look nearly enough to keep the frigid air off of her skin. However, she would have to settle for caution over comfort tonight. He had turned around now and was about to answer her that a fire wouldn't be safe, when she surprised him once more.

Sarah was staring at the three slumbering Hobbits and though Aragorn couldn't see her expression, he assumed it was one not unkindly. When she reached over to tuck Sam in more, Aragorn realized with a start what had pushed her to move faster.

It was the Hobbits.

He had noticed that the girl and the Hobbits seemed to be getting along. Apparently though, they seemed to be getting along even better than Aragorn would have guessed already. Though Aragorn knew that the girl wasn't aware of him yet, he turned back around so she wouldn't see the smile spreading across his face.

Aragorn was happy to have been wrong about her.

After telling Sarah about the dangers of the fire, assuring her safety with him and giving her his silent permission to join him, she settled down next to him. She didn't glance at him nor did he glance at her. Aragorn was comfortable with the silence between the two of them as he put his piped back into his mouth, but he could tell that Sarah was itching to fill in the blank.

He decided to let her make the first move.

"What are we looking for?" she finally asked him with a furrowed brow, throwing him a sideways glance.

Aragorn took a long drag and then slowly blew out the smoke before he decided that was probably a question best left unanswered.

For her sake.

She scowled at his remaining silence, but then sighed. Aragorn didn't mean to disappointment the girl, but he didn't want to get her into any more danger than she probably was already in because she had simply joined them.

Sarah gazed around for a bit, seemingly uninterested, before she leaned back on her hands and let her head rest back a bit on her shoulders.

Then she gasped loudly and sat up abruptly.

"What?" Aragorn jumped slightly.

He dropped his pipe in shock and quickly scampered to his feet. He was already holding his unsheathed sword as Sarah just gaped up at the night sky with a look of wonder upon her face. Aragorn quickly scanned it, trying to see what alerted Sarah so much, "What is it?"

…He didn't see anything.

He searched it more intensely a second time, in case he just missed something, but nothing seemed to be out of the norm. Stars, stars, stars and a moon. Just like always. He slowly lowered his gaze back down to the girl and sheathed his sword. He raised an eyebrow when she continued to gape at the starry night sky.

"What?" Aragorn couldn't help but ask the strange girl a second time.

Sarah spared him no attention as she continued to look at the starlight sky like she was discovering it for the first time.

"The stars," she breathed out finally, as if she spoke too loud, the sky above her would shatter.

Aragorn paused, expecting her to continue, but when it remained silent, he simply leaned down to pick up his pipe and took his place next to her. He took a _very_ long drag and asked Sarah another question because he now found himself even more curious, "What about them?"

"I've-," Sarah broke off and shook her head, as if to rid herself of some kind of trance, "I've never seen… so many stars before..."

As she trailed off, Aragorn tried to consider her words. Never seen so many? So she had seen the night sky before, but not quite like this? How was that possible? He scoffed. He didn't understand and his list of questions for the girl only grew. It was frustrating to Aragorn, who was a man that liked answers.

Just as he was about to tell her to go to sleep, partially because he wanted to be left alone with thoughts and partially because he knew she would need it, Sarah whispered so softly, he almost didn't hear her:

"They're so beautiful."

Aragorn finally faced the girl and was taken aback by the look of sheer awe on her face. Pure wonder. The fascination she found in the thousands of little lights dotted across the black night sky. She brought her legs up to her chin and rested her head on them, without breaking contact from the sky above, as if she was almost scared that if she glanced away for even a second, it would all disappear.

Aragorn couldn't help but think that she seemed more small, naïve and childish now than when she had when she was practically sobbing on the ground earlier today.

Taking yet another drag from his pipe, Aragorn decided for the millionth time that Sarah was truly one of the oddest girls he had ever met.

"You should get some rest," he gently told her. It felt almost wrong now to drag her away from the night sky since she obviously was smitten with it, but the girl would need her rest. Less than half a day of traveling tired her out, so a full day of it would probably kill her.

Sarah seemed to be saddened by the thought of leaving the night sky, but she finally pulled her eyes from above and quietly slid off the boulder and back to the camp. Before settling down on the ground and going back to sleep, she turned around and smiled at Aragorn in the most serene way he had ever seen her smile yet.

"Good night, Strider."

And she was out.

Aragorn shook his head, put his pipe back in his mouth and continued his vigilance in silence.

* * *

"You're an _elf_!"

Sarah sure felt like she jumped out of her skin when she heard Sam screech loudly from behind her. However, when she went to check herself, she still was in one piece.

Wait, what did he just call her?

"I am _not_ an elf!" she couldn't help but laugh at him. Did it look like she worked for a fat guy dressed in red?

It was morning now and after a very quick breakfast, the five got together and restarted their journey. It couldn't have even been more than an hour since they set out before Sam surprised them all.

All Sarah did was lift her wild mane of hair in an attempt to pile it on top of her head because she couldn't stand the grimy feeling of it anymore. She hadn't been able to shower in _days_. She felt disgusting all over, but her hair was the worse. It was coated in grease. Sarah cringed just thinking about it. She just wanted it off her neck and out of her face.

Next thing she knew, Sam was yelling stupid shit and pointing at her and now everyone had stopped walking and was looking at her and her fucking hair.

Lovely.

"Yes you are!" Sam insisted, gawking at her with wide eyes. Despite finding him completely adorable with his bug- eyes at the moment, Sarah cocked an eyebrow at his persistence. Was he seriously arguing with her about this?

"Am not!" Sarah fire backed childishly. She also felt the desire to stick her tongue out, but decided against it. She wasn't a toddler, after all.

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Yess!"

"Nooo!"

Alright, apparently she was a toddler because now her tongue was out and it was sticking at Sam. He looked shocked for half a second at the act, but then got over it and continued to argue, raising his voice so he was half-yelling at Sarah.

"I _SAW _your _EARS_!"

Sarah, deciding she might as well go full toddler if she was gonna do it, slammed her hands against her ears and stomped her feet on the dirt path they were all currently walking on in this green, hilly area Strider was leading them through once more.

"I'm not listening!" Sarah hollered "_LA! LA! LA! LA!_" she pounded the dirt with every 'la' she screeched.

Sam was now full-out yelling at her and Merry and Pippin had started to join him too, (probably because they just felt left out and wanted to make some noise as well) but Sarah was having none of that. She only screeched her voice louder over the three since that is her birthright as a female.

"I CAN'T _HEEEEEAR_ YOOOOU!"

Sarah figured she was being just a _tad_ immature and _probably_ going overboard with the whole toddler thing, however, she couldn't help but mentally laugh at the scene they were causing. It had to look pretty funny to an outsider.

"_ENOUGH!_" Strider practically roared at all of them with a murderous look upon his face.

_Or not._

Strider, judging by his face, didn't seem to find any humor in the situation, looking ready to kill all of them and be done with it, but oh whatever. Like Sarah would_ ever_ be scared of that man again.

_His loss, _Sarah mentally shrugged with apathy.

Sam, Pippin and Merry all quickly shut up when Strider exploded and were now staring at the ground like it was the most interesting dirt path they had ever seen, obviously feeling ashamed. Sarah, not removing her hands from her ears, stopped her yelling as well, but frowned at Strider, "Geez, lighten up man. It's good for the _soul _to be silly occasionally."

Strider glared at her.

"You'll face will freeze like that if you keep it up, y'know."

Strider glared harder at her.

_Uh-oh, _Sarah thought while biting her lip, realizing she had taken it too far, yet again.

Strider really did not look happy with her and, she noticed, only her. _Oh, what_ever_!_

It's not like she even started it. Just as she was about to point that out, he then suddenly stalked over to Sarah, grabbed her arm and forcibly removed it to look at her ear. He then mumbled something Sarah didn't catch and practically threw her arm down back to her side. He seemed to growl as he rubbed his chin, half-turned away from Sarah and continued to mumble his gibberish.

_Alright, _Sarah decided, furrowing her brow and no longer amused. Her wrist was now sore, thank you very much. _This has gone far enough._

"What?" she exclaimed as she dropped her other hand to her hip, annoyance clear in her tone and face. Strider turned back around to face her fully and huffed at her.

"Why did you not tell us?"

"Tell you what?" Sarah demanded, placing her other hand on her hips. She really had no idea what he was going on about. What was the big fucking deal? Strider give her an annoyed look and just gestured to his ears and then to her. It took Sarah a minute, but when she understood what he meant, she almost rolled her eyes at him.

Unbelievable.

"O_h c'mon_, I am not an elf! I'd think I'd know guys!" she was almost yelling again.

Strider just stared at her, like he couldn't believe_ she_ was arguing with him about this. Sam, Pippin and Merry all had raised their eyebrows at her and were exchanging looks with one another. Sarah scowled heavily at the lot of 'em. Sarah, as pointed out earlier, was never a patient person. Combine that with how physically _exhausted _she was (seriously, the bags underneath her eyes were so big, they had to be designer) and how fucking _ridiculous _this argument was getting, Sarah was pushed over the edge.

"Look I'll even_ prove_ it to you!" She was yelling again. Sarah threw her hands in the air and then reached to push her hair behind her ears so they could all see them and move the fuck on with their lives, "I am _not _an-"

But Sarah, for once, immediately stopped talking, dropped her jaw and felt a lump the size of Texas form in her throat when her fingers brushed against her ears.

Her _pointed_ ears.

_NO _FUCKING_ WAY!_

Sarah's eyes got so wide, she was certain that they were going to fall out. As she continued to rub and finger her pointed ears again and again, (just to make sure) she opened and closed her mouth continuous, like a fish outta water, looking comically pathetic.

She was at a loss of what to say or do.

_SHUT THE _FUCK _UP!_ She mentally screamed. She just couldn't believe it.

"Sarah?" Strider furrowed his brow, growing concerned when he saw her reaction. He was still annoyed at the way she was acting earlier, (honestly, _was_ she a child?) but she seemed genuinely shocked at her ears. Sarah, still rubbing her ears and leaving her mouth opened, glanced to him out of the corner of her eye.

As she stared at the man that allowed her to come along with them to _wherever_ they were going, Sarah remembered the promise she made to herself about accepting anything that came her way. But come on! _This is too much!_ Sarah cried in her mind. So, she did the only thing any sensible person would do.

She let loose the highest-pitched scream she possibly could from her lips.

Which was also her birthright as a female.

* * *

"Did you hear that?"

A pause.

"_Ú_, Prince Legolas."

Legolas frowned at his companion. He was certain his elf ears had picked up on a noise in the distance. He kept still, in hopes of hearing it again, but alas, he heard nothing. His companions were now tensed and looking around, as if something would pop out and attack them.

Which actually happened quite often to Legolas while on patrols through _Taur-nu-Fuin_.

"_Man te_?" one of his companions questioned, already notching an arrow.

Legolas scanned the area in front of him, his elf-eyes narrowed and searching. But it seemed like the forest was playing tricks on him.

Just as he was about to turn around to his companions and suggest they head back to his father's palace, a spider the size of a small horse suddenly burst out of the very same bushes he had been studying and attacked him.

But Legolas, with his quick and nimble elf-feet, was already out of the way and his companion was able to launch his arrow at the spider. However, he missed the head and got the side instead. The spider gave a horrifying cry of pain and turned on the one that had pierced her so sharply, causing said elf to back up suddenly and trip over a root, a rock or whatever else was littered through this dark forest. The elf did not know nor did he care as the spider quickly advanced on him.

"_Ai_!" Legolas' companion yelled out while quickly rolling out of the way, as the spider attempted to sting him. Luckily, it was just the distraction Legolas needed to get in a good spot and put his own arrow through the foul's beast head, ending her miserable life.

"_Noro_!" Legolas ordered at once. This one was just a baby, which meant a nest had to be close by. Which meant that there was probably hundreds nearby. Three elves, no matter how skilled, could not take on a full nest.

Legolas decided that by finding the location of this nest, his patrol had done their duty.

He was going_ bar_.

Just as the evening sun took place in the sky, Legolas and his companion finally saw the Great Halls of Mirkwood come into their line of sight.

Since this was a royal patrol, due to Legolas' presence in it, they were greeted by servants and handmaidens. The swarm gathered around the three, taking their armor off, nursing any apparent wounds and guiding them through the Great Halls they all called home. When one tried to lead Legolas to his own chambers, he gently stopped her.

"I need to speak with my _Ada_ at once," she simply nodded at his common request, "_Hannon le."_

"_Ta naa seasamin,"_ she responded and walked away from the group to go announce the young prince to his father, the Elvenking Thranduil, son of Oropher.

Legolas waved his companions off, thanking them for doing their part in keeping their land and their people safe. Legolas, once his companions were out of his sight, turned down a hall, following the steps of the young _elleth_.

Soon, he came across a great doorway, one that was made from the finest wood of the forest and carved with an exquisite design that involved the sun shining down upon the trees and a single crowned elf. Legolas paused and took a moment to adjust his clothes and smooth out his already smooth blonde hair.

His father hated to see him all scuffed up.

Wordlessly, he opened the door to the large and magnificent Great Royal Hall of Mirkwood.

"_Ion__nín_," Thranduil smiled from his place on the throne as Legolas entered the hall and strolled past all the other elves, heading directly to him, "_Cormamin lindua ele lle_!"

Legolas returned the smile as he bowed to his father and his king, "_Le suilon Ada._"

A brief moment passed between father and son, before both burst out laughing at how ridiculously formal they were being.

"My Greenleaf, " Thranduil addressed Legolas fondly and got up from his antler'd throne and walked down to grasp Legolas by his shoulders, "Tell me, what have you found?"

"The patrol discovered a _fuir _nest, about half a day from here, " Legolas walked beside his father through the Royal Hall, nodding at the fellow elves around them, be they noble or otherwise.

Thranduil shook his head, as he gracefully thanked and accepted a glass of his favorite elvish _gwîn_ from a servant, "_Ed' i'ear ar' elenea_! So close. Very well, I will send another patrol to take care of it a_barad_. It is far too close for my liking."

Legolas wordlessly agreed with his father, as Thranduil continue to speak to his son, "Anything else, _ion__nín_?"

"_Ú, Ada."_

"Then shall we get you a glass as well?" Thranduil grinned and took a rather large swing of his wine as Legolas laughed at him.

"That is alright, _Ada_. I would like to go round up the elves I want for that patrol you mentioned for tomorrow."

"Legolas," Thranduil stopped suddenly, with an arm on his only son, "You are not going."

Legolas almost rolled his eyes at his father. Thranduil had a nasty habit of being overprotective of his son. Legolas was a great warrior, every elf and elleth in Mirkwood would agree. Despite this, it took a lot of persuasion on Legolas' half in order to have his father allow him to go on patrols and outside of the forest itself.

"Do not look at me like that," Thranduil warned his son with a raised eyebrow, "You are not going on this patrol-"

"But _Ada-_" Legolas continued in an exasperated tone.

"-because I need you to ride to _Imladris _tomorrow, to tell them of the creature Gollum's escape," Thranduil finished firmly while taking another drink.

Legolas blinked. He then narrowed his eyes.

"I am?" he questioned his father in disbelief, as they started to walk again.

"You are," Thranduil responded without missing a beat, "Also, _Brannon_ Elrond has requested a royal presence in an upcoming council."

Ah.

"_Mae,_ if he has requested for a _ernin _presence, who better than the Elvenking?" Legolas gave Thranduil a pointed look.

"_Ion__în_," Thranduil answered smoothly, with a mischievous grin.

"_Ada!"_ Legolas exclaimed wildly as they left the Royal Hall together.

"I am needed here!" Thranduil explained with a gestured to all around him as they made way through the wooden Halls. It became quickly obvious to Legolas that his father was leading him to Legolas' chambers.

"To drink the _gwîn_?"

"_Lasta lalaithamin_," the Elvenking told his son sarcastically, "My Greenleaf, I have no doubt in my mind that you will not fail me."

"And I have no doubt that you are just trying to get out of _Brannon_ Elrond's council."

Thranduil didn't answer his son, but only grinned and peered at Legolas from a top his glass as he took another knowingly sip of his wine.

The Elvenking was use to getting his way.

Legolas sighed as his chambers came into view and decided to surrender this battle, "Very well, _Ada. _You are lucky I enjoy _Imladris_ greatly."

"_Amin harmuva onalle e' cormamin,_" Thranduil told his son with affection beaming from his ever-grinning face, a hand on his heart, "_Galu__, _Legolas."

This time, Legolas did roll his eyes at his father. Though Legolas did love his father with everything he had, Thranduil could be rather dramatic at times. _Gwîn_ or no g_wîn._

Before letting himself into his chambers, Legolas turned to his father and said, "_Novaer__, Ada."_

Not knowing that would be the last time in a long time he would see his _Ada_.

* * *

Elvish Translations (In order of appearance)

_Ú:_ No

_Taur-nu-Fuin_: literally, the forest under nightshade. It is what the Elves called Mirkwood.

_Man te_?: What is it?

_Ai_!: Ah/Eek!

_Noro_!: Run!

_Bar_: Home

_Ada: _Daddy

_Hannon le_: Thank you

_Ta naa seasamin_: It is my pleasure

_Elleth_: Elf-maid

_Ion__nín_: My son

_Cormamin lindua ele lle_!: My heart sings to see thee!

_Le suilon Ada: _Greetings Daddy

_Fuir_: North

_Gwîn_: Wine

_Ed' i'ear ar' elenea_!: By the sea and stars!

_Abarad_: Tomorrow

_Imladris_: literally, deep valley cleft. It's what Elves called Rivendell.

_Brannon_: Lord

_Mae_: Well

_Ernin_: Royal

_Ion__în_: His son

_Lasta lalaithamin_: Listen to my laughter

_Amin harmuva onalle e' cormamin_: I shall treasure your gift in my heart

_Galu_: Good luck/Good bye

_Novaer__, Ada_: Farewell, Daddy.


	5. the human inside of you

_"Hold fast to the human inside of you, and you'll survive."_

- **Roussin, **_**The Diving Bell and the Butterfly**_

A 'headache' could not even begin to describe the thumping and pounding Sarah felt in her head.

_A head that now has two pointed ears. Two pointed _elf _ears. Fuckity fuck fuck fuck._

After screaming bloody murder for a good solid minute, Strider managed to calm Sarah the fuck down. She didn't really listened to him as he held her up since her legs decided to take a vacation from their job. She did somehow manage to make out the words 'Rivendell, 'help,' and, 'continue on.' She didn't say anything to him, as her voice had decided to go with her legs on this said vacation. She could only slowly nod at Strider's soothing tone while gazing off into the distance. Sarah was so in a dazed that Strider could have convinced her to put on a grass skirt and do the hula with Timon and Pumbaa.

She desperately wanted to curl into a ball and cry, right here on the dirt, but instead she was slowly dragging her feet behind the Hobbits and the man. Each step felt heavier and heavier than the one before it.

_A _fucking _elf,_ Sarah thought for perhaps the millionth time, but hey, who was counting?

Sarah shook her head and concentrated on walking. If she thought more about her sudden and unexplained changed of race, she would no doubt crumble into an even more useless heap on the ground. _I can't let them down_, Sarah told herself fiercely, referring to the Hobbits and Strider.

So she instead decided to focus on everything else that was wrong with her.

She was very thirsty and needed some caffeine in her system soon or she was certain her head would implode, assuming her headache was partially from lack of caffeine. She was also very hungry, despite the Hobbits and Strider sharing their little bits of breakfast with her when the day started. It just wasn't enough for Sarah's bottomless stomach. She was pretty tired too, cause sleeping on the ground was, unsurprisingly, not very restful.

Sarah's list of everything that was wrong just seemed to continue on and on, making her feel even more miserable. _Ugh, okay. New topic._

"How much further?" she questioned peering at the three small figures directly in front of her. Strider was, once more, further ahead than them. _He really does not want to be the caboose, does he?_

The Hobbits, who had been chatting among themselves, fell silent and gave her a surprised look. She hadn't spoken all day. They had trying talking to her, but after the twelfth wordless grunt, they decided to give her some space. That didn't stop them from throwing her concern glances every now and then.

Not that Sarah noticed, since she was, once more, too consumed with her own agony to notice anything else.

Like, how Sam was feeling awfully guilty for everything that had happened. He didn't mean to upset anyone. He was just so shocked. (And a little excited! I mean, he was traveling with an elf!) Because of this, Sam was the first to speak up, eager to get the old Sarah back as soon as possible.

"I'm not too sure," he spoke quickly, "Lemme ask Strider. I'll betcha he'll know!"

Sarah was about to tell him that wasn't necessary, but he was already zooming ahead to Strider. As she watched him scurry away with a zealous Sarah did not think anyone could achieve while scurrying, she observed the way Pippin and Merry had exchanged a quick look and then broke out into a rather random and forced conversation. Sarah raised her eyebrow at their puzzling behavior, before she nearly groaned at her stupidity once more as she caught on to what was wrong.

Ever since she had discovered she was an elf, Sarah had moped and moped all day long. She didn't take into account anyone else's feelings and focused solely on herself. Again.

_I have got to stop being so damn conceited and oblivious_, she thought, mentally scowling herself.

Yes, everything that had happened to her thus far has been rather pressing, but that didn't give her any right to ignore and hurt the ones kind enough to take her underneath their wings. The more Sarah thought about it, the angrier she got with herself.

_Alright, enough pity-party table-for-one. Think happy thoughts, like unicorns and sunshine and… Tony Stark, Chevelles and French fries and, uh… rainbows, I guess…_

Sarah sighed and fell in line with Pippin and Merry, thinking she would join in on their conversation and show them that, despite everything, she was okay.

Err, okayish.

"…all I'm saying, is that would it _really_ slow us down?"

"Pippin," Merry rolled his eyes in an exasperated way, "We've been over this. Enough already!"

"But Merry!" Pippin desperately continued, "You know as well as I do how important second breakfast is! How can you just-"

"Look Pippin, I understand how much you miss second breakfast, really I do, I miss it too! But you have got to let it go or Strider will-"

"Excuse me," Sarah couldn't help butting in, "What, in the name of everything that is pure and decent in the world, is second breakfast?"

Merry groaned, but Pippin face instantly split into a grin and a strange twinkle took over his blue eyes.

"I'm happy you asked, Sarah!"

"Here we go…"

"Second breakfast," Pippin continued in a very strict, all-business-no-nonsense tone, "is the meal after breakfast and before elevenses. It is the second meal in a seven meal layout and it is very important to starting the day off right!"

Merry rolled his eyes once more, as that last bit was directed more at him than Sarah, but that didn't stop Sarah's interest from getting piqued in every possible meaning of the word.

"And during this second breakfast, you… consume more breakfast foods?" Sarah questioned, looking very intensely at Pippin as he explained the sacred Hobbit ritual.

"Well," Pippin blinked at the fairly stupid question, "Yes."

"Including…" Sarah licked her lips and stared at Pippin with the intensely of a thousand burning suns, "…pancakes?"

"Uh… yeah," Pippin said, feeling suddenly very nervous about this conversation.

Sarah continued to stare at him intensely before she suddenly pushed past the two.

"Strider!" Sarah called out loudly while quickening her pace. Pippin and Merry exchanged an incredulous look and quickly tried to keep up with Sarah's bigger strides, "We have something of _utmost_ importance to talk about!"

Sam and Strider both stopped and stared at Sarah's advancing figure. Sam had a face of concern while Strider crossed his arm and was all serious. Not even Jim Carey could get a chuckle out of this man at the moment.

_Good,_ Sarah thought, _He needs to be serious about this!_

"Why," she paused for dramatic effect, "Why, why, why have we not partaken in second breakfast!?"

Sarah realized halfway through her question that her voice had raised in pitch and that she was gesturing quite wildly with her hands, but she didn't care.

She needed answers.

"Sarah," Strider started slowly, obviously picking his words carefully, "Are you… sure that is what you want… to ask me?"

Sarah blinked at him, slightly confused. What else could have been as important as second, as in _more than one_, breakfast?

"What else would I ask you about? This is a pressing matter, good sir!"

The look Strider gave her clearly told her without any words that he thought that she was an idiot, but he then sighed and answered nevertheless, "We already have one breakfast, we do not need another. We start our day when the sun rises and we do not stop until it is night," he lectured her, sounding very much like he had given this particular speech before, "Now, if that is all," insert firm glare, "We must continue on."

"But-" Sarah started but quickly shut her mouth at the dark glare Strider was burning into her face, "Alright, _fine. _Whatever."

Sarah's lips twitch and she tried her hardest to not burst into giggles as Strider looked at her oddly. The glare had melted off his face and his eyes were now surprisingly searching hers. Sarah couldn't stop the tiny smile from forming on her lips as she realized that he was making sure she was okay from her freak out earlier. Granted, finding out you're an elf does give you freaking-out privileges.

However, like with most things in life, one must eventually move the fuck on.

Sarah bit her lip and quickly nodded to Strider to go on ahead. Strider paused, as if waiting to see if she would do or say more, but then turned around and continued on anyways. Sam continued to gaze up at Sarah with concern and confusion.

"Miss Sarah?" he hesitantly questioned her," Are you… alright?"

Sarah smiled sweetly at the short and chubby and oh, he was so adorable with his big brown puppy-dog eyes staring up at her. Sarah couldn't help but melt on the inside. She wanted to hug him, but resisted the urge to for his sake.

"I'm alright, Sam," she looked him straight in the eyes, kneeling down in front of him, "Thank you_ very_ much for asking though."

Sam stared hopefully into her face and a smile quickly spread across his shy face, lighting it up.

_Dawwh! _

Sarah lost all control and gathered Sam in her arms for a hug with a small laugh.

Don't judge. Cute things happen to be one of many of Sarah's weaknesses.

"Erm, Miss Sarah?!" Sam exclaimed at the sudden contact, turning a dark shade of red.

"Sorry, sorry," Sarah laughed as she released him, "I'm just glad…" she trailed off.

She was going to say that she was glad that they were her friends, but she really hadn't even known them for a day yet. Yes, she considered all of them her friends already, but that was because she was very childish.

_They may not feel the same about me_, Sarah bite her lip at the slightly depressing thought. She didn't want to make them feel uncomfortable or awkward. Or at least, any more than she probably already did.

She glanced around to Merry and Pippin and even peeked a glance to Strider's patient waiting figure and realized that they all were listening to hear her words.

_Oh, shit._

Sarah struggled to think of something else to say and decided to hurry up and just spluttered out, "I just, uh, I... never did um say thank you… for allowing me to uh come along… on this journey… with you… all. All of you, hehe."

_Nailed it._

"No, instead, you shouted a cuss at all of us."

"Shut it Pippin," Sarah narrowed her eyes, though they and her words were without any malice.

"We should get going," Sam smiled at Sarah's words, but he was still rather embarrassed from her hug and wanted to get out of the spotlight as soon as possible.

The four caught up to Strider and they all started to walk and Sarah happily noted that Sam was walking with more of a spring in his step than before. Then, to Sarah's surprise, Strider slowed down to walk beside her while the Hobbits took the front for once.

"Are you truly all right?" Strider questioned her in a hush tone.

Sarah smiled and gazed down. These were good people by her side. She was very lucky despite the weirdness of it all. It was time she started to act more grateful for everything. After all, she supposed that worse things than turning into an elf could have happened to her while suddenly finding herself in a whole new place.

_I mean, I could have turned into a newt. _

As long she remained herself and stayed with her new friends, then…

"I'll be alright. Thanks Strider."

* * *

Legolas stood by the stables with the rest of the elves that would accompany the Prince on his journey.

Thranduil had insisted that Legolas take a small party with him to _Imladris_. Legolas didn't feel like it was necessary, but his _Ada _pouted and sulked until Legolas finally gave in to what he wanted.

Sometimes, Legolas forgot that he was the child and Thranduil was the parent.

"Prince Legolas?" One of the elves asked, as they all saddled up on their horses "_Lle desiel_?"

Legolas had already stalled them, taking his time in grooming his horse and saddling her up, then checking his armor and weaponry. He had finally taken to tiding up the stable a bit before his company had started to get extremely restless. Normally, Legolas would be the first one out if it meant starting a new journey and getting out of Mirkwood for a little bit. Not that he didn't love his forest and his home, but he was only 2,931 years old after all.

He was still very young.

However, Legolas was less than thrilled to began this trip until a certain Elvenking would come to see them off. Legolas threw the gates to the Hall one more look, before deciding to answer his companion with a sigh.

"_No_."

And so they were off.

Legolas was frustrated because he had made a solid effort in trying to see his _Ada. _Before leaving this morning, Legolas had searched everywhere, the Royal Hall, the Dining Hall, even the Elvenking's private chambers. Alas, Legolas found out from an elleth that the Elvenking had set out even before the sun was up in order to help plan the patrol that would take care of the nest Legolas found yesterday. For all Legolas knew, Thranduil himself left with that patrol.

Legolas was a little disappointed, since his _Ada_ was the only family he had left in Middle Earth, but he would get over it. It was common for elves to go long periods of time without seeing each other.

"Prince Legolas!"

Even though the elleth racing toward them had only called his name, the whole elf party stopped and turned around. Legolas felt hope stirring in him that perhaps his _Ada _had not forgotten him completely after all.

"_Man te_?" Legolas asked the young elleth as he came down from his horse to meet her.

She didn't say a word but only handed him a small message. Legolas took it and quickly opened to see his _Ada's_ familiar handwriting:

_Remember that you represent not only the royal family in this meeting, but all of the elves of Mirkwood. Do try to be safe, my Greenleaf._

_For my sake._

Legolas read the message once, twice and then a third time, savoring his _Ada's_ words. They filled him with a fire that no amount of water could put out. With a small smile and a new excitement brimming in his being, he bowed to the elleth, hoped back onto his horse in one fast movement and started a fast canter.

His companions kept up with him, looking surprised at the Prince's sudden haste.

"Prince Legolas," the one to his left addressed him, "We need not hurry. We have plenty of time to reach _Imladris_ before the council."

Legolas, being the graceful Prince he was, recognized that his companion was simply offering his advice as a friend rather than trying to belittle him. Because of this, Legolas grinned at the elf and said, "Tell me, how long does it take to get to _Imladris_?"

The elf blinked at the polite, yet unexpected, question, but quickly answered anyways, "It is a four or five day journey, Prince Legolas, given the traveling conditions."

The grinned on Legolas' face only stretched further as he replied, "Then we shall arrive there in three, _mellon."_

And then with a laugh at the shocked expression his companion gave him, Legolas dashed ahead with the same grin still plastered on his face.

Adventure was waiting for the young Elvish Prince.

In more ways than one.

* * *

"Are we there yeeet?" Sarah whined for the hundredth time that day.

"No," Strider glared at her from his side of the river with his arms crossed, watching her fail at wading through the water.

Sarah didn't understand why they hadn't make camp yet. It was getting dark now, the sun just about to set. And Strider looked very anxious. _Maybe we're close?_ Sarah thought while she concentrated on not slipping and failing into the water. Again. Her soaked hair and clothes were proof of the fact that she had fallen in once before already.

Alright, fine. She had fallen in three times.

"No!" She shouted when she felt her foot lose its grip and send her tumbling, face first into the cold, rushing water.

Four times.

"Sometime today would be preferable, Sarah!"

Sarah looked up, water dripping off her face and spat out any water in her mouth, along with, "You could help, y'know!"

Strider rolled his eyes at her while Sam, Merry and Pippin were all sitting around, looking half worried and half bored. It was taking Sarah a while to get through the river, and while watching her fall the first two times was amusing, it was now just pathetic. Strider mumbled something Sarah assumed was a curse, but trudged through the water towards Sarah. She gave him a relived smile, figuring he was coming to rescue her from the monstrous river, but he wordlessly reached down, grabbed her arm and started to drag her through the water.

"HEY HEY HEY! THIS IS NOT WHAT I HAD IN MIND!" Sarah screamed at him, trying to now get up, but, of course, failing, "WHAT THE FUCK, MAN!?"

She then coughed as water shot into her throat. If not for the rushing water by her ears, she would have heard the sigh of relief from Strider at her silence. When he finally got to land, the Hobbits looked on as he pretty much dropped the gasping girl onto the bank.

"You… suck," Sarah managed to gasp out, slowly getting air back into her body.

"Perhaps," Strider responded, not really knowing what she meant, "However, now we can continue."

Strider turned away and did just that, the Hobbits following his heels. Sarah got back to her feet, with no help, and quickly caught up to Strider's figure. They were now walking quite fast through a field.

"We aren't… making camp?" she questioned, still a little breathless.

"No, tis would be a waste."

"So we're close?"

"Yes," Strider answered, a new light entering his eyes.

Sarah grinned at his happy expression, deciding she would get back at him later for his little stunt with the river and pointed out the obvious by saying, "You're excited."

He looked over at her with a raised eyebrow, "Perhaps."

The giggle that escaped from Sarah made his lips turn a bit at the ends and Sarah paused as she realized that she might see Strider smile for the first time in what she figured was probably his whole life. Seriously, that guy never seemed to be enjoying himself. She bet that even as a baby, he was serious.

_Or maybe I'm just that annoying._

This place had to be pretty spectacular if it got a ball of fucking sunshine like Strider happy and excited for life.

"Tell me more about Rivendell," Sarah eagerly demanded, smiling at the thought of a new place for her to explore.

"I could do that," Strider pondered, again, almost smiling at Sarah's pout, "Or you could just see for yourself?"

Strider nodded towards a nearby cliff and that was all Sarah needed as she raced towards it, the moon slowly making its way up from the horizon ahead of her. She was pumping her arms and making her sore legs move as fast as possible, which wasn't much, but it would have to do. She was just getting so curious about this place, she didn't want to wait for the others.

She wanted to see it now.

Once she reached the edge of the cliff, Sarah gazed out with wide eyes and a smile and hungrily devoured the sight of Rivendell by starlight.

She gasped once and then covered her mouth, before slowly letting her hands fall to settle on her chest. Her mouth dropped open in awe at the beautiful and enchanting sight of the Last Homely House, leaving her speechless and breathless.

Again.

* * *

Elvish Translations (In order of appearance)

_Imladris_: literally, deep valley cleft. It's what Elves called Rivendell.

_Ada_: Daddy

_Lle desiel_?: Are you ready?

_No_: Yes (haha)

_Man te_?: What is it?

_Mellon_: Friend


End file.
